Herman, Michael, Donovan, Jennifer, Tran, Maichi, McKenna, Brigid, Gore, Joel M., Goldberg, Robert J., and Tighe, Dennis A.
To link to full-text access for this article, visit this link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ahj.2009.06.023 Byline: Michael Herman (a)(c), Jennifer Donovan (a)(c), Maichi Tran (a)(b)(c), Brigid McKenna (a)(b), Joel M. Gore (a)(b), Robert J. Goldberg (a)(b), Dennis A. Tighe (a)(b) Abstract: [beta]-Blockers have been shown to benefit patients after myocardial infarction by decreasing mortality, sudden cardiac death, and reinfarction. Although [beta]-blockers are recommended for all patients with acute coronary syndromes (ACS) without contraindications, a target heart rate (HR) is recommended only for patients with unstable angina/non ST-elevation myocardial infarction. A contemporary series documenting trends in [beta]-blocker usage and achieved HR and blood pressures (BP) is not available. The study objectives were to monitor trends in HR and BP in relation to [beta]-blocker use in a contemporary series of patients with ACS. Author Affiliation: (a) Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, UMass-Memorial Medical Center, Worcester, MA (b) Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA (c) Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, Worcester, MA Article History: Received 26 February 2009; Accepted 13 June 2009